Welcome to my corner of the internet! My name is Nikole Goncalves aka the “HealthNut” behind HealthNut Nutrition. I live in Canada with my other half, Matt or as he’s known on the internet “Mr.Matt” with our newly adopted pup Cashew! Six years ago while living and backpacking our way through Australia I decided to start one of the craziest things I’ve ever done… I started talking to a camera and sharing videos on YouTube to strangers around the world.
Today the YouTube channel has grown and become an amazing online community of over 616K subscribers or what we like to call #TheHealthNutFam. I am also a newly published Author of my very first book, The HealthNut Cookbook, which contains over 100 easy, healthy and delicious meals!
I am a passionate “healthnut” and I love to inspire others to live an active, balanced, and healthy lifestyle by showing how easy and delicious it can be! Before I started HealthNut Nutrition I was a coffee guzzling, sugar addict, stress case, workaholic. I would often skip breakfast or survive off of a large double double coffee (It’s a Canadian order) and sugar infused blueberry muffin and by the afternoon I would feel so exhausted, anxious, and moody that I needed even more coffee and sugar to get me through the day. Not only was I starting to feel exhausted, but my anxiety was also at an all-time high. I knew that I needed to make a change.
I slowly started transitioning over to a healthier lifestyle, focusing on adding more nutrient dense foods into my “diet” ps. I hate that word. I started HealthNut Nutrition 6 years ago as a way to document my wellness journey and stay motivated along the way while inspiring and connecting with other like-minded people around the world. What I didn’t realize is that it would grow into such an amazing worldwide community. I am proud to say that I left my 9-5 corporate marketing job in January 2017 and now inspiring healthy living through my online platform is my full-time job and I pinch myself every day.
To me, delicious is only part of the equation; the HealthNut in me loves to make sure that every dish I make is healthified in a way that proves that healthy eating doesn’t have to be boring. My goal is to create healthy, yet tasty recipes that are guaranteed to make your taste buds dance.
Don’t believe me? Just try one of my no-bake cheesecake s’mores bars… Cheesecake you say? It’s my favourite. Everyone has their guilty pleasures, and I’m all about encouraging a balanced way of eating to make sure that I’m getting the nutrients I need while enjoying the sweet and savoury dishes I love. Hiding healthy inside delicious is not as hard as you might think, and I love to inspire others to discover how they can incorporate wholesome foods into everyday recipes to make dishes that are mouthwatering AND healthy.
Let’s make it clear, I don’t believe in dieting. HealthNut Nutrition is all about finding a balanced life that works for you. It’s about listening to your body, surrounding yourself with positive sources, and limiting stress while enjoying the foods you love. There’s no calorie counting, low fat, sugar-free labels on my recipes; because I focus on real, unprocessed foods – it’s as simple as that. When it comes to balance, I live by the 80/20 rule; that means eating healthy 80% of the time, while leaving 20% for sweets and wine.
Healthy is a feeling and a state of mind, not a waist measurement, calorie intake or number on the scale.
Every week on the channel I share a variety of NEW recipes – vibrant and mouth-watering dishes that are easy, healthy and sure to satisfy. My recipes don’t follow any specific label guidelines such as gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, or paleo, though many of my recipes have those characteristics and are easily adaptable. I’m all about variety, creativity, and using real, wholesome foods; so whatever the recipe ends up being, there’s sure to be an option for everyone.
Eating healthy doesn’t have to be all salads and celery sticks! My goal is to inspire and educate my viewers about the food they’re eating and help them to create a long term plan of incorporating healthy foods that are sustainable in an everyday routine. There are no super complicated recipes, ingredients you’ve never heard of, or outrageously priced supplements here; my recipes are about finding flavours that work together and incorporating fresh and healthy ingredients that will excite your palate, one taste bud at a time. If you’re new here, head over to the recipe index, where you can find all of my recipes categorized in one place.
On my blog, you will also find healthy lifestyle inspiration – from travel to self-care, fitness, natural beauty and more. I also have a curated online wellness shop that I created with Mr.Matt, called The HealthNut Shop where you can find all of my favourite kitchen essentials, clean home supplies, self-care products and more!